


Double-slit experiment

by Verse



Category: Digimon Adventure
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-10
Updated: 2018-11-06
Packaged: 2019-05-20 12:38:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 2,333
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14894792
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Verse/pseuds/Verse
Summary: She's light and life and sister of fire, and in her hand the abyss sings.Or: in which Taichi picks the wrong card, Hikari has been befriending the monsters under the bed for years, and the universe moves on.





	1. Chapter 1

She opens her eyes to a sunless sky.

The sand is familiar under her fingers. Slowly, she sits up, limbs still weakened by her sickness. The lighthouse greets her from afar, casting shadows like a giant blinking eye.

She should not be here.

“Dagomon?” she calls, softly. The waves rise in response; he is listening. “Why did you call me here?”

He’s not like anything else Hikari as ever met. Dagomon, that is. He has a physical body, like her and Taichi and those creatures no one but her can see. But he’s not confined to it, if that makes sense. He’s Dagomon; but he’s also so much more- the very Ocean batting these shores, every drop of water and every violent current. He’s bigger and larger than any living creature could ever hope to be.

 _Just like you._ He’d told her, an eternity ago. She hadn’t understood, then. She was too young to know she would regret ever doing so.

The waves retreat, curling into typhoons. Dagomon has a voice, but the ocean does not. Hikari doesn’t care either way. She spent so long with a whistle for a tongue. She gets the message.

_Something’s wrong._

And, Hikari realizes, it’s the truth.

She knows. Like one knows how to breath, like one knows how to crawl. An instinct, a voice, in her bones. A certainty.

Her brother is not coming home.

“What can I do?”

The waters turn dark, as if it had started swallowing the very light. Of course it would. Dagomon is a lot like Taichi in that regard.

“I won’t hide.” she says. And she means it. She may be a kid, but there is too much empathy in her to stay idle. “I will fight. You can’t stop me.”

There is a beat. The waves come and go, thinking. But Hikari already knows he will let her. Dagomon was always the one who listened to her, after all.

The water pool together, tightly- tighter.  Finds shape and finds weight. Darkness incarnate in a deadly weapon.

Casually, Hikari bends over, and picks up the trident.

“Thank you.” she says, because of his gift, and because of his trust. “I won’t die, I promise.”

The lighthouse blinks a silent goodbye.

When she slips back in Tokyo, trident in hand, the sky is filled with bats.


	2. Chapter 2

The fog is thick, curling in blinding clouds around buildings like a white snake. Hikari almost thinks she took the wrong turn to home, for a second.  But this isn't anything like the fog crowning Dagomon's domain. It's cold but not refreshing- a heat thief rather than a shield. The jagged shadows lick her feet, large and threatening, a predator eyeing at her- a far cry from the comfortable blanket she used to hide under.

She swallows hard, dread in her bones. This... this is not home. It's Odaiba alright, but  _this is not home_.

She hears heavy footsteps in the streets, too loud to belong to any human. She is not welcome here.

In her hand, the trident hums.

At least  _someone_  is at ease here.


	3. Chapter 3

There's no one home.

Well. There's no one she  _cares_  about home.

The door is unlocked and wide open- just like most of the closets and drawers. Salt and spices pepper the floor in a way her mother would have never allowed them to be. The beds are cold and undone, the light flickering on and off. Her parents, Hikari thinks, must have left in a hurry.

There is a man in a wizard gettup on the couch.

The trident vibrates in her palm, and she drums her fingers against the handle. Easy, now.

“So it’s you,” the man says. He brings up his hand, and the pendant dangling between his fingers shine a bright pink. “the eighth chosen child.”

...

who now?

Hikari is fairly certain she was not chosen by anyone. Except maybe Dagomon- but no, the priest is notably averse to humans, she knows.  _She_  was the one who had chosen to befriend him, because she was young and the beach was empty and she didn’t know better. Just like she had chosen to come back here, even though Dagomon had warned her there was danger.

If anything, she’d chosen herself.

“I believe this is yours.” the man continues, extending an open palm to present her some kind of square, digital device. As if that explained anything. “We should hurry. I know where your partner digimon is, too.”

There is power, in silence- Hikari has learned that from years of lying through her teeth about what she saw and what she’d seen. People are quick to make assumptions built on half-truths as long as no outright denial come shaking it down. The wizard is obviously no human, but Hikari stays silent all the same.

“I know what it looks like, but it’s not a trap.” he says, apparently interpreting her lack of answers for wariness- not that he’s completely wrong. She’s still not convinced he’s any different to the ghosts and lizards outside. “I want Vamdemon dead as much as you.”

Hikari doesn’t want to kill anyone, though. She  _would_ , no doubt, to achieve a bigger goal- she  _is_  Taichi’s sister. But sorely seeking murder for the sake of murder feels- wrong.

The wizard pauses, for a second. “Do, uh.” he shifts awkwardly. “do you speak japanese? Or are you mute? You’ve been pretty quiet since-”

“I can speak.” she replies. “This Vamdemon man. Is he the reason why there’s so much fog outside?”

The wizard blinks, thrown off balance. He probably didn’t expect her to be so out of the loop. So sue her- she was at sea when the fog rose. Dagomon pulled her away before trouble started.

“Yes, that’s him.”

That’s all Hikari needs to know.

She turns around and walk right back out. She has her target. Time to bring her family home.

“Wait!” The wizard calls. She ignores him. There is a s, a sharp sound, and her dad’s bookcases fly in front of her, trying to block her path. “You can’t just- go fight him alone. He will kill you!”

Can’t.

Again with what she can and can’t do. No, Hikari, you’re too weak. No, Hikari, you’re too sick. No, Hikari, you’re seeing things. It’s okay, Hikari, let Taichi take care of it-

_Her brother is not coming home._

She raises the trident and pushes the furniture away. “But I will.” because someone has to, because no one else is willing to, and because she needs to make the town safe enough for her brother to be able to come home.

In her palm, the abyss sings.

She chooses her fate and her choice is fight.


	4. Chapter 4

There is something different with this cat.

Well, lot of things. It walks on two legs for a start. What hikari means is- different compared to the rest of the monsters roaming the streets. An odd sense of familiarity in her guts. Like Taichi's arms around her, or the chill embrace of the waves by the lighthouse.

Maybe it's the light color of its coat? Everyone else seems pretty far down the dark and edgy line here.

"You!" The cat bares its teeth, eyes narrowing. "So _you_  are the eighth child."

Again with that! Hikari kind of wish that she knew who those seven other mysterious kids are. The town is wide and scary for a single child. But let's be honest: Hikari wouldn't be able to trust those even if they were there. Nothing personal. She's just learned long ago that holding her tongue is usually the best course of action.

Swiftly, the cat takes out its claws. The shine under the faint light like broken seashells. Sharp. "Lord Vamdemon is looking for you."

Sweet. So is she.

"Where?"

The cat starts. That is obviously not the answer what it's been expecting. "What? I- it doesn't matter, you'll see soon enough. I'll bring you to the big round building myself."

Big round building...

...the Fuji TV Station?

"Wh- you- don't you walk away from me!" It's pretty amazing honestly, how offended an actual cat can sound. "I said I was here to take you!"

Oh, please. If it intended on actually doing more than just threat, it would have attacked her long before monologuing.

(And Hikari feels something, maybe, something a lot like safety with this cat who introduced itself as an enemy. As weird as it sounds, Hikari had learned to trust her instincts.)

The cat spits with irritation. " _Don't ignore me!_ "

The trident vibrates sharply as a warning- and the cat strikes right at the nearest wall.

She hears a crackle, a grumble, and as the wall starts collapsing at her Hikari starts running.

(She can't help but smile, though. She was right. After all, the cat didn't aim directly at _her_.)


	5. Chapter 5

She doesn't expect to find a human in there.

Neither does here, for that matter. The man's eyes go wide as saucers, gaze jumping from her to the scepter to the lizard from afar. But he  _is_ human, she's sure of it; she can feel it in her bones. The sudden twist of the scepter in her hand is proof enough; Dagomon was never fond of humans. (Or monsters, or people.)

The surprise only lasts for so long, though, which Hikari appreciates. Getting over things straight to the point is a lost art in her humble opinion.

(She thinks back to those fuzzy memories of scales and feathers and deafening cries. Why do people get so upset over things if they will just forget afterward anyway?)

"Get over here!" The whispers with strength. "Hide!"

He extends a hand, palms up. Desperate and hopeful and genuine. Briefly, Hikari wonders how long he's been there, hiding among the crates and radios.

Behind her, Hikari hears the telltale wind from the flying ghosts.

She takes his hand.


	6. Chapter 6

The man's name is Ishida.

"But please, call me Hiroaki." He says. Hikari doesn't really expect to stay with him long enough to have to actually call him by name, but it's still good to know.

He's a strange man, either way. A strange adult and a strange human. In a good way. In a doesn't call her a crazy immature kid, tells everything clearly and straightforward way.

"Thankfully, one of these little monsters helped me hide." He concludes. Hikari wonders how long this has been happening. Time is a weird thing, especially in the dark ocean, so she can't just use her own experience to deduce that.The man has a slight stubble and crinkles over his clothes, but for all she knows it could be his standard state of being.

"And you?" he asks, sitting on an abandoned crate. "How did you get this far without being stolen by the bats?"

... Well, the same way he did, technically.

Her fingers slide over the trident, a caress of sort. 

(Under her touch, the sea responds.)

"A friend hid me away for a while too." Could have just sent a warning instead, honestly. Written in sand on the floor or something, not like they would have had to clean it up with the whole apocalypse thing. But Dagomon has always been a worrywart.

Oh, well. This has been pleasant, but she needs to go now.

The man frowns. "Where are you going? It's not safe out there."

It's not safe  _anywhere_.

"To the Fuji Tv Station."

The man tenses.

"...That's where they all are."

Precisely.

Hiroaki stares at her, up and down. Judging her, she guesses. Looking at her frail arms and petite frame (the fury in her hand and the determination in her eyes). She's not sure what he sees, but he must like it (be afraid of it) because he doesn't try to stop her.

"At least let me call my friend." he says. "We can help you."

...she doubts it.

Adults never do.

She humors him, nonetheless (because she wants to hope and believe and maybe  _maybe_ this man is the one trustworthy person she'll ever meet)

What a strange, strange person.


	7. Chapter 7

Oh gosh darn it it’s the freaking magician guy again.

The small man coughs in his fist. “I… it’s wizard, actually.”

Yeah, sure, whatever. Forgive her for not trusting some guy she found in the ruins of her house.

“I’m not  _ some guy _ I’m a  _ digimon _ .” He doesn’t sound so much irritated as thrown off. “And, it wasn’t in  _ ruins _ -”

Can he  _ stop _ reading her thoughts already?!

the wizard throws both hands in the air “alright, alright, no need to get aggressive.”

Fine. Fine.

At least the cat and Hiroaki are both here. This calms her down a little.

(They’re staring at the trident in her hand right now. Specifically, how it vibrates with anger. Very unsubtly. A sentiment she shares, honestly.)

“Look,” the wizard says, “we kind of, got off the wrong foot. But I just want to talk. I just want to tell you a story, and that’s  _ all _ , I swear.” 

The scepter pulses once, twice in her hand. Dagomon doesn’t trust any of them. They want to leave.

Hikari relates to that. Actually, she almost takes a step toward the exit right here and now.

...But-

(The sight of the cat still tugs at her very soul.)

(Hiroaki is staring at her with concern and fear. She’s not sure if it’s for her or  _ of _ her.)

(And the wizard still has that plea in his eyes, that  _ believe me, listen to me, it’s important _ , and the memory of a forgetful family and giant dinosaurs is still fresh on Hikari’s mind.)

-it can’t hurt to just listen, right?

Alright, then, he can speak.

(But at the slightest sign of betrayal, Hikari  _ will _ cut him down.)

The wizard man nods in understanding. Slowly, very slowly, he brings out a square device- the same he’s shown her before, actually.

“I told you. This is yours.”

Huh.

“Let me tell you a story. Of this, and you, and Tailmon. And Vamdemon.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And thus Hikari finally got The Exposition on the eight child and all that jazz  
> I'm probably not gonna write that tho y'all already know it lmao

**Author's Note:**

> Fun fact this actually spawned an entirely different Dagomon-related au on the discord, because we are terrible.
> 
> I have no idea if I'll continue this. Hopefully, because I like the idea a lot. We'll see.
> 
> In any cases, the tumblr's versegm. Leave a review in passing!


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